Stick to the sashimi

If it hadn't been for the rice, I might be raving about this new City Japanese.

The fish - and we waded through lots - is ravishing, outrageously fresh - as it should be - and plentiful. Buttery hamachi (yellowtail) was as tender as Turkish Delight; toro (actually otoro), or fatty tuna belly, was slippery, unctuous and rich; salmon had the depth of colour and the lack of fat of the unfarmed; eel was smoky and sweet.

So carping about the rice might seem mean but good rice - pearly, each grain separate with distinct bite - is fundamental to Japanese food. In the sushi, nigiri, maki and an alarmingly over-mayoed crab and avocado hand-roll, it was just too soft; it squidged as you bit into it.

And in a donburi - a pot of rice with egg, vegetables and teriyakiglazed sirloin steak - it had degenerated into the porridgey.

Shame, because otherwise this is a terrific little spot. Upstairs there's kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi; downstairs there's a sunken tatami area where shoes are forbidden (even the waiter, poor soul, was in and out of his footwear more often than the gals in Sex And The City).

If they up the rice ante, this could be a real find: if not, stick to sashimi.

A meal for two with sake, tea and service costs about £60. Kurumaya, 76-77 Watling Street EC4. Tel: 020 7236 0236. Tube: Bank

Kurumaya
Watling Street, London, EC4M 9BJ